Is matrimony a matter of money?

We have covered the issue in class on whether money should be a deciding factor if one is to get married. However, wealth should only be but a factor in a marriage, and go together with other factors to determine whether one should marry. Marriage is for life, and it is crucial to ensure that both parties love and care each other in order to maintain life-long happiness, instead of just looking at money alone.

We can acknowledge that money is indeed a deciding factor in a marriage as it could be the root of future conflicts in the family, and is needed to ensure their basic needs are met. Yes, money can buy a lot of things to ensure that one leads a comfortable and peaceful life, but it cannot buy happiness. Having happiness does not necessarily means that one is rich, nor does being rich always brings one happiness. If the couples love each other and care for each other, money should not be a boundary between them. One example is the recent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Kate is not exactly rich, in contrast to Prince Williams, but they still managed to fall in love with each other and did not money stand in their way.

One example to show that money does not really lead to happiness in a marriage is the divorce of Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse on 14 July. In fact, using money as a deciding factor in a marriage will only lead to a lose-win situation. The one who marries into the family and inherits the money gets the benefits, while his or her spouse is left in peril. In the case given above, Cecilia demands that her ex-husband fork out enormous sums of money as part of negotiations, while turning a blind eye to their relationship and their precious sons, caring only about the mere sum of money. It is very pathetic and also quite heart-breaking to see people turning their life and marriage upside down for money.

So in a nutshell, matrimony is not necessary a matter of money but it could be in certain parts of the world. However, doing so will only lead to dire consequences and unfavorable outcomes for everyone, except the selfish whose only aim is the money.